An Airtel customer can buy a new Intex Aqua LIONS N1 for an effective price of Rs1,649 against the current market price of Rs3,799. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: Bharti Airtel Ltd has tied up with device maker Intex Technologies to launch a range of 4G smartphones, starting at an “effective price” of Rs1,649 and bundled with a monthly pack of Rs169 from Airtel, offering data and calling benefits, the telecom operator said in a statement on Wednesday.

Companies in the telecom sector have become more aggressive in the bundled offerings segment after Reliance Jio in July announced an “effectively free” 4G phone for a refundable security deposit of Rs1,500 and unlimited data for Rs153 a month.

While Bharti Airtel has already announced tie-ups for bundled offerings with Karbonn Mobiles and Celkon, the country’s second-largest operator Vodafone India Ltd has teamed up with Micromax for similar offerings.

Under the Airtel-Intex partnership, a customer can buy a new Intex Aqua LIONS N1 for an effective price of Rs1,649 against the current market price of Rs3,799. The phone can be availed for a down payment of Rs3,149, Bharti Airtel said.

After making 36 continuous monthly recharges of Rs169 from Airtel, a customer will be eligible for a cash refund of Rs500 after 18 months and another Rs1,000 at the end of 36 months. This translates to an effective price of Rs1,649.

The device is a dual-SIM touch-screen phone, and comes with rear and front camera, 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage which is expandable up to 128GB.

If the customer does not wish to opt for the bundled plan, and still wants the refund, recharges worth Rs 3,000 must be done within the first 18 months and another Rs3,000 over the next 18 months.

The customer would not be required to return the device to either party to claim the cash benefit, the company said.

In addition to the Intex Aqua LIONS N1, the tie-up offers two other phones.

The Intex Aqua A4 comes at an effective price of Rs1,999 and the Intex Aqua S3, for Rs4,379. The two can be bought at down-payments of Rs3,499 and Rs5,879, respectively. The cash-back scheme stays the same.

All devices are Android powered and offer access to all apps on Google Play Store, including YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. The smartphones come preloaded with MyAirtel App, Airtel TV and Wynk Music.